"Today's Education"

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"Today's Education"

74/04/05 Bombay, Bhagavad-gita 4.16 listen

Pradyumna: (leads chanting) Translation: "Even the intelligent are bewildered in

determining what is action and what is inaction. Now I shall explain to you what

action is, knowing which you shall be liberated from all sins."

Prabhupada:

kim karma kim akarmetikavayo 'py atra mohitahtat te karma pravaksyamiyaj jnatva moksyase 'subhat

So.... so again the same beginning. Catur-varnyam maya srstam

guna-karma-vibhagasah [bg. 4.13]. Everything is being spoken on that basis.

Now, everyone has to work. Krsna never says to Arjuna that "You haven't got to

work. I am your friend. I am the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You simply

sleep, and I shall do everything for you." He never said like that. He could

say that. Just like modern, rascal incarnation of Gods, they say to their

devotees that "You simply think of me. I shall do everything for you." But

Krsna never said that. Krsna said that man-mana bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaji mam

namaskuru [bg. 18.65], but never said that "You sit down idly." Never said

that. Krsna, rather, said that "You better do akarma than sit down idly. Even

you do something mischievous, that is also good than to sit down idly." He

never said. Karmany evadhikaras te ma phalesu kada... Simply He said that "You

work. You have got the right to work according to your capacity,

according to your position." That position is brahmana position, ksatriya

position, vaisya position, sudra position. In any position, you work, but the

result should be given to Krsna. That is wanted.

That is tyaga. Tyaga means to give up the result to Krsna. That is sannyasa.

Sat-nyasa. Sat means the Supreme. And anyone who renounces everything for

Krsna, the Supreme, he is sannyasi. That will be explained in the Fifth

Chapter. Karyam karma karoti yah. Anasritah karma-phalam karyam karma karoti

yah, sa sannyasi. Karyam, "It is my duty."

Just like we have got in our institution specified duties for each and every

member, and they are doing, and if... They take it seriously, every one of

them, that it is the order and duty. "My Guru Maharaja has specified this duty

upon me. So it is my duty." Karyam. Karyam means "It is my duty. I must do it."

So anasritah karma-phalam karyam karma karoti... That he is trained up.

According to varnasrama-dharma, that is trained up.

A brahmacari, from the very beginning of his life, he is trained to act only for

guru. That is brahmacari. It is enjoined that a brahmacari live at the shelter,

at the care of guru just like a menial servant. Krsna also, although He is the

Supreme Personality of Godhead, when He was living as brahmacari at His guru's

house, Sandipani Muni, He was collecting wood, fuel, from the jungle. He was

going daily. It is not that because He was Personality of Godhead, therefore He

should not go. No. You will find in the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Krsna Book, that when

Sudama Vipra met him, he was talking with Him about His childhood stories. Krsna

reminded him, "Sudama, do you remember that one day we went to collect fuel for

our Guru Maharaja, and there was storm and rain, and we could not get out of

the forest. We had to live overnight there. Then on the morning Guru Maharaja

came with other disciples and they recovered us from the jungle. Do you

remember?" So Krsna had to do this. This is training.

A brahmacari is trained up from the very beginning how to become a sannyasi at

the end of life. How he is trained up? He is trained up to collect for guru

alms. Everywhere the brahmacari would go to householder, and they ask, "Mother,

give us some alms for my Guru Maharaja." And the ladies would give him. Because

everyone's son goes to the gurukula. So there was no hesitation. And the

brahmacari would collect and bring it in the asrama, and then he should live

just like a menial servant. He may be a king's son or a very learned brahmana's

son, but when he lives at gurukula, he has to work.

It is said in the sastra... In Bhagavad-gita, in Srimad-Bhagavatam you will find

the duty of brahmacari, the duty of grhastha, the duty of vanaprastha, the duty

of sannyasa. Everything is there. So a brahmacari is trained in such a way that

although he has collected everything, but he does not claim anything. He does

not keep anything with him. Even though he has to eat in the asrama, but that

he will eat upon the calling by the guru, "My dear such and such, please come

and take your prasadam." It is said, if the guru forgets to call him one day,

he will not take his food. This is called brahmacari, means strictly following.

And they used to call every woman from the beginning of life, "Mother." This is

training. Matrvat para-daresu. From the very beginning of life, all women they

are treated as mother. That is the system, Vedic system. Everyone will call a

woman as "Mother." Never mind whether she is younger or older. It doesn't

matter. Woman has to be addressed as "Mother." That is Canakya Pandita's

instruction. Who is learned scholar? Who has got three qualification, he is

learned scholar. What is that? Matrvat para-daresu: "To treat all woman as

mother." Nowadays it has been introduced in India, "Bahinji." No. This is not

the etiquette. The etiquette is to address every woman, never mind whether she

is young or old, as "Mother." This is brahmacari. This is brahmacari.

The brahmacarya is very strictly enjoined in the Vedic sastra. Brahma, to

maintain brahmacarya, it is advised matra svasra duhitra va navivikta... Matra

svasra duhitra va [sB 9.19.17]. So one should not sit down with woman in a

secluded place, even though the woman is mother, sister of daughter. So much

restriction. And why? Balavan indriya-gramah: "The senses are very powerful."

Vidvamsam api karsati. "Oh, senses may be powerful for the fools and rascals."

No. Vidvamsam api karsati: "Even one is very learned, advanced, still, senses

are so powerful that it can be agitated even before the mother, sister and

daughter." This is Vedic injunction, brahmacarya. Tapasa brahmacaryena damena

samena [sB 6.1.13]. These are the human life. To accept brahmacarya life,

tapasya, controlling the senses, controlling the mind, tyagena, by giving in

charity whatever you possess. These are the different processes.

But if you take to bhakti-yoga, then all these processes become automatically

accustomed. That is the profit of bhakti-yoga. So brahmacari-karma,

grhastha-karma, vanaprastha-karma, sannyasa-karma, then brahmana's karma, then

ksatriya's karma, vaisya's karma, sudra's karma. The society which knows

perfectly well all these different karmas, that is perfect society, that is

human society.

Therefore Krsna says that kim karma akarmeti kavayo 'py atra mohitah. Kavayah,

very learned scholars, they are also become bewildered how to specify duty to a

particular person. That is not being done at the same time. Everyone is going to

the school and colleges, passing their examination, but because he is not

trained up according to his tendency or according to his quality, after

education he is unemployed. Because he has not been trained up according to the

tendency, according to the qualification. That is the basic principle of karma.

Krsna has begun in this chapter, catur-varnyam maya srstam

guna-karma-vibhagasah [bg. 4.13].

That is very essential, the varnasrama-dharma. Because we must have the aim of

life. At the present moment there is no aim of life. The aim of life is sense

gratification. That's all. Indriya-trpti. That is forbidden in the sastras.

Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma [sB 5.5.4]. Kim karmeti kim vikarmeti will be

described. So karma and vikarma, prescribed duties according to qualification,

position, occupation, that is called karma. And just opposite, it is called

vikarma. Karma akarma vikarma. That Krsna will explain.So at the present

moment... Not at the present moment. It is the tendency of materialistic life

to act vikarma, forbidden karma. That is explained by Rsabhadeva in

Srimad-Bhagavatam, nunam pramattah kurute vikarma yad indriya-pritaya aprnoti

[sB 5.5.4]. That is visible in the present moment in the Kali-yuga all over the

world. Vikarmeti. All kinds of sinful activities, they are performing. That is

called vikarma. The

vikarma we have specified especially: illicit sex, meat-eating, intoxication up

to drinking tea, coffee and smoking. These are all vikarma. So they do not

know. But they are going on. Therefore Rsabhadeva, many, many years ago he

warned his sons, "My dear boys, nunam pramattah kurute vikarma." Pramattah. Pra

means sufficiently or extraordinarily. Prakrsta-rupena. Mattah. Mattah means

mad. Nunam pramattah kurute vikarma: [sB 5.5.4] "All people, being mad, they

are committing all sinful activities." They do not know what is sinful

activity. They think everything is all right. No. Nature will take account of

everything and he will give you a next body.

The same example. If you infect some disease and the after result, you must

suffer from that disease. This is nature's law. Similarly, karanam guna-sango

'sya sad-asad-janma-yonisu [bg. 13.22]. That is explained in Bhagavad-gita. Why

one gets low grade life and why one gets high grade life? What is the reason?

That is explained by Krsna, that karanam guna-sango 'sya. The reason is as he

is being infected by the different qualities of material nature. Therefore we

have to be very careful. There are three qualities and mixed qualities.

Originally three qualities: sattva-guna, rajo-guna, tamo-guna. Then three

multiplied by three, mixture, then it becomes nine. Then nine multiplied by

nine it becomes eighty-one. Different, just like color mixture. So therefore

there are 8,400,000 species of life, this mixture of qualities. Karmana

daiva-netrena [sB 3.31.1]. We are infecting different types of qualities of

material nature, and we are becoming

fit for the next life.

But next life there is, tatha dehantara-praptih [bg. 2.13]. People do not know

it. Therefore we should be very careful to take instruction from Bhagavad-gita,

and make our life successful, following the rules and regulation as it is

prescribed there. Otherwise we are animals.

The animals, they cannot follow any rules and regulation. Animal, you ask

animal, dog, that "You become a brahmacari." That is not possible. That is not

possible (laughs). It is for human being. These asramas, the four asramas and

four varnas, they are all meant for human society, not that it is restricted in

a certain area or certain country or certain community. No. It is meant for the

whole human society. Bhagavad-gita is meant for the whole human society. When

Krsna says, catur-varnyam maya srstam guna-karma-vibhagasah [bg. 4.13], he

never says that "It is meant for India." Where is that? Why they came that the

catur-varnyam should be in India only? Krsna never said that. Krsna said,

sarva-yonisu kaunteya sambhavanti murtayah yah: "In every species of life, as

many forms are there, all of them are My sons." Aham bija-pradah pita. Krsna

never says that "I am Indian" or "I am ksatriya" or "I am brahmana." Krsna

says, "I am the father

of everyone." Therefore this catur-varnya or this karma-kanda, everything is

meant for the whole human society, if not for the animal society. Of course,

animal society they cannot follow. That is their degraded position. Labdhva

su-durlabham bahu-sambhavante. Therefore sastra says that "This human form of

life is gotten after many, many births," labdhva su-durlabham. Su-durlabham.

Durlabham means very rare to be obtained, and again addition, su, "very, very."

So we should not waste our this human form of life whimsically. It is a great

loss. It is a great loss. But people are not educated how much important this

human form of life. (aside:) Don't move like that.

Labdhva su-durlabham idam bahu-sambhavante manusyam. And Prahlada Maharaja says

also, the same thing. That is the basic principle of Vedic civilization.

Prahlada Maharaja says,

kaumara acaret prajnodharman bhagavatan ihadurlabham manusam janmatad apy

adhruvam arthadam [sB 7.6.1]

Kaumara, from the very beginning of life, kaumara. Kaumara means from fifth year

to tenth year, five years. Within these five years, education must begin. And

especially dharman bhagavatan. Bhagavata-dharma means to understand Krsna, to

understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

I know, amongst the Mohammedans, it is a system that small children, they are

taught Purana. That is very good system, but we have forgotten. Although India

is the land of spiritual culture, our small children, they go to school,

colleges, but he has no connection with Bhagavad-gita. He has no connection

with Bhagavad-gita. They are simply trained up for sense gratification. In

Western countries also -- for sense gratification. Which is to be suppressed,

sense gratification, that education is given. They do not know what is karma

and what is vikarma. Now, when the students become disobedient and they create

riots and set fire in the buses, then they lament. But why you have educated

the students like that? Who is responsible for this? The rascals, they do not

know. Here is Krsna prescribing. Kim karma kim akarmeti kavayo 'py atra

mohitah. Even learned men, they become bewildered. Tat te karma pravaksyami.

So in this bewildered condition, baffled condition of the society, we should

consult Krsna. Krsna is ready to give you advice, as He was ready five thousand

years ago to give advice to Arjuna. That instruction is still current. It is not

that it is finished with the Arjuna and Krsna, no. You can take also the same

advice from Krsna and mold your life. That is wanted.

So kurute vikarma, we are trained up simply to act, opposite direction. Instead

of doing good work, we are educated to do bad work, just the opposite. And that

is not good. That is the advice of Rsabhadeva. Nunam pramattah. What is that bad

work? Bad work means sense gratification. That's all. Anything you do for the

satisfaction of your sense, that is bad work. And anything you do for

satisfaction of Krsna, that is good work. This is the division of bad work and

good work. The same thing, if you do for your personal satisfaction, it is bad

work. And the same thing, if you do for the satisfaction of Krsna, that is good

work. We must first of all learn this.

Just like Arjuna was thinking in the beginning that "Fighting and killing is not

good, especially fighting with the family members and killing them. No, no, I

cannot do that." Bad work. He was thinking it was bad. But same thing he did.

When he understood Bhagavad-gita, he did not do anything else, because he was a

fighter, he was a warrior. In the beginning he was refusing because he was

trying to satisfy his senses. "Oh, it is very good. I think it is... I

think..." What you are? You are always misguided if you think like that. But

the same Arjuna, when understood Bhagavad-gita... Krsna inquired from him, "Now

what is your decision?" Now, karisye vacanam tava [bg. 18.73]. "Yes, now I have

decided." So what is that vacanam tava? Krsna asked him to fight. So same

fighting, how he became good now? Because Krsna wanted it. A good work.

So this should be our motto of life, that you should act if Krsna is pleased.

This is good work. That is confirmed in many places in Srimad-Bhagavatam. Atah

pumbhir dvija-sresthah. Suta Gosvami said in the meeting of great learned

scholars and brahmanas in Naimisaranya. He said, dvija-sresthah: "O best of the

brahmanas who have assembled here to hear me..." Dvija-sresthah. Atah pumbhir

dvija-srestha varnasrama-vibhagasah. Again that varnasrama. Without varnasrama,

it is a rascal society. That's all. It is not even human society. It is animal

society. But that we have lost now. Again it is said, varnasrama-vibhagasah.

Atah pumbhir dvija-sresthah. He was speaking amongst the very learned scholars

and brahmanas. Therefore he addressed, "My dear all great brahmanas,

dvija-srestha..."

Dvija means brahmana, ksatriya, vaisya. And the brahmana is the srestha, the

best of the dvija. Dvija means twice-born. One birth by the father and mother,

and the next birth through the guru and Vedic knowledge. Vedic knowledge is the

mother and guru is the father. The next birth. That is called dvija, twice-born.

Once born by father and mother, that is sudra. Janmana jayate sudrah. First

birth is sudra. The next birth, when he is trained up by the guru in Vedic

knowledge, that is real birth. Therefore all of them were first-class

brahmanas, dvija, with samskara. Therefore they are addressed dvija-sresthah.

Atah pumbhir dvija-srestha varnasrama-vibhagasah.

Again this varnasrama. Svanusthitasya dharmasya. Svanusthitasya dharmasya. Now,

mark this word, dharma. A brahmana's action as a brahmana, that is dharma. And

brahmana is not fighting; that is his dharma. So dharma may be different

according to position. But here it is said, atah pumbhir dvija-srestha

varnasrama-vibhagasah. When there is sacrifice in the yajna, the brahmana

offers the sacrifice. It does not mean that he is killing some animal.

Similarly, a ksatriya is fighting and killing in the battle, but he is still not

killing. This has to be... Not general, generalization, "Oh, killing is bad."

Killing is bad for one who is not destined, who is not meant for killing. And

places. Everything should be in terms of sastra, not whimsically manufacture

something. No.

yah sastra-vidhim utsrjyavartate kama-karatahna sa siddhim avapnotina sukham na param gatim

This is the injunction. So atah pumbhir dvija-srestha varnasrama-vibhagasah.

Everyone has got particular type of occupational duty according to varna and

asrama. So whether it is perfect or not, that test is svanusthitasya dharmasya

samsiddhir hari-tosanam [sB 1.2.13].

You are ksatriya... Just like Arjuna was a ksatriya. His perfection as ksatriya

was because he pleased Krsna. Samsiddhir hari-tosanam [sB 1.2.13]. This is

wanted. So this Krsna consciousness movement is presenting the most scientific

way of life. It is not a whimsical concoction of a human brain. The basic

principle is Bhagavad-gita and sastra, Srimad-Bhagavatam. Everything is clearly

explained. If we take advantage of this Krsna consciousness movement then our

life will be perfect.

That is the special prerogative of the Indians. Therefore Caitanya Mahaprabhu said,

bharata-bhumite haila manusya-janma yarajanma sarthaka kari' kara para-upakara [Cc. Adi 9.41]

"Every Indian has to perfect his life by accepting the Vedic principle and

distribute it to the whole world." This is the best welfare activities in the

human society. Thank you very much. (end)

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Bhagavad-gita 4.16 -- Bombay, April 5, 1974

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© 2001 The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International. Used with permission.